“Aftah de War was over de slaves was worse off dan when dey had marsters.  Some of ’em was put in stockades at Angola, Loosanna[FN:  Louisiana], an’ some in de turrible corral at Natchez.  Dey warnt used to de stuff de Yankees fed ’em.  Dey fed’ em wasp-nes’ bread, ‘stead o’ corn-pone an’ hoe cake, an’ all such lak.  Dey caught diseases an’ died by de hund’eds, jus’ lak flies.  Dey had been fooled into thinkin’ it would be good times, but it was de wors’ times dey ever seen.  Twant no place for ’em to go; no bed to sleep on; an’ no roof over dey heads.  Dem what could git back home set out wid dey min’s made up to stay on de lan’.  Mos’ of dey mistis’ took ’em back so dey wuked de lan’ ag’in.  I means dem what lived to git back to dey folks was more’n glad to wuk!  Dey done had a sad lesson.  Some of ’em was worse’n slaves after de War.

“Dem Ku Kluxes was de debbil.  De Niggers sho’ was scared of ’em, but dey was more after dem carpet-baggers dan de Niggers.  I lived right in ’mongst ’em, but I wouldn’ tell.  No Ma’m!  I knowed ’em, but I dasn’ talk.  Sometimes dey would go right in de fiel’s an’ take folks out an’ kill ’em.  Aint none of ’em lef’ now.  Dey is all dead an’ gone, but dey sho’ was rabid den.  I never got in no trouble wid ’em, ’cause I tended my business an’ kep’ out o’ dey way.  I’d-a been kilt if I’d-a run ‘roun’ an’ done any big talkin’.

“I never knowed Marse Linc’um, but I heard he was a pow’ful good man.  I ‘members plain as yesterd’y when he got kilt an’ how all de flags hung at ha’f mas’.  De Nawth nearly went wil’ wid worryin’ an’ blamed ever’body else.  Some of ’em even tried to blame de killin’ on Marse Davis.  I fit wid de Yankees, but I thought a mighty heap o’ Marse Davis.  He was quality.

“I guess slav’ry was wrong, but I ’members us had some mighty good times.  Some marsters was mean an’ hard but I was treated good all time.  One thing I does know is dat a heap of slaves was worse off after de War.  Dey suffered ‘cause dey was too triflin’ to work widout a boss.  Now dey is got to work or die.  In dem days you worked an’ rested an’ knowed you’d be fed.  In de middle of de day us rested an’ waited for de horn to blow to go back to de fiel’.  Slaves didn’ have nothin’ turrible to worry ’bout if dey acted right.  Dey was mean slaves de same as dey was mean marsters.

“Now-a-days folks don’ live right.  In slav’ry times when you got sick a white docter was paid to git you well.  Now all you gits is some no-count paten’ medicine.  You is ’fraid to go to de horspital, ’cause de docters might cut on yo’ stummick.  I think slav’ry was a lot easier dan de War.  Dat was de debbil’s own business.  Folks what hankers for war don’ know what dey is askin’ for.  Dey ain’ never seen no bloodshed.  In war-times a man was no more dan a varmint.

“When my white folks tol’ us us was free, I waited.  When de sojers come dey turnt us loose lak animals wid nothin’.  Dey had no business to set us free lak dat.  Dey gimme 160 acres of lan’, but twant no ’count.  It was in Mt.  Bayou, Arkansas, an’ was low an’ swampy.  Twant yo’ lan’ to keep lessen you lived on it.  You had to clear it, dreen it, an’ put a house on it.